Our constitutional position is to be a servant of Lord Krsna. 7/19/15 From Vrinda Bhumi

My dear devotees.
Receive all my affection from Vrinda Bhumi

Today I want to talk a little about the liberation, of true liberation. What is true liberation? It means abandoning all different walks of life: like bhutas or other subtle bodies and being situated in your true svarupa of self. True liberation is to find one's position relative to Krishna, svarupa siddhi. Siddhasvarupananda, the divine form, the spiritual body. Only people who have experienced confidential disclosures know their siddhasvarupa. This is not something public to advertise, rather it is something very confidential.

Once I asked Srila Guru Maharaj (Srila BR. Sridhar Goswami Maharaj) on two issues related to confidential books like Gita Govinda. He replied: "ordinary Sannyasis should not read this," that was his answer. He said: ordinary sannyasis. It is a great mercy to enter into the sannyasi stage of life, but that does not ensure that one is able to know his svarupa siddhi. If one is not surrendered, then you will not understand anything. There are two ways to assessing one's svarupa . The first is general and it is the assessment of one as Nitya Krishna dasa, as dasa dasanudasa, "the servant of the servant of the servant" ... the servant of the servant of the servant of the servant of Krishna, the maintainer of the gopis, who are His eternal associates. Then, internally speaking, my own service has some connection with Sri Krishna and the gopis, but since I am the servant of the servant of the servant, I'm sure of the service to my guru. So I am protected. So nitya Krishna dasa is my constitutional position, my svarupa as a servant. Krishna will reveal my service and my own spiritual svarupa when He desires it. How many lives will this be delayed? Only He knows. I can mourn and pray for it, but it is He who will respond, Sri Radha Govinda have all rights reserved on this issue. Nobody else. In India one can see some "imitators" if you meet them and tell them that you like the bhakti yoga process, they will tell you that they can reveal your svarupa. So, many people believe that it is very easy to get your svarupa, which just involves going to India, but that is not an authorized process.

Srila Prabhupada said that "imitation" would not help us in spiritual advancement. He said that a person may want to have children, but if you do not have a fertilized seed in the womb of your wife, no child will be born. Women can imitate being pregnant, but she will not get any child if the seed was not planted. Similarly, if the revelation was not revealed to you then you can not pretend to know what your svarupa is nor can you reveal it to others. This is only a warning. However, it is clear that one's svarupa does exist, because in the spiritual world you're going to have an auspicious spiritual body, but we are not qualified for it. Perhaps we will need many more lives practicing bhakti yoga to develop the skills that allow us to reach the spiritual world and assume that spiritual form in that environment. Srila Prabhupada said that anything is possible, that even in this life it can manifest if you want it, but for this you have to make a very important choice: fully detach yourself from material things. Svarupa then means to be a servant of Krishna, if I accept that then from now on I have to devote myself to do service. And one should have a meaningful conversation with your siksa - guru or diksa - guru about the service to do. There are devotees who never talk about service, just eat prasada, however, in spiritual life one needs to inquire about what one should do.
Regardless of the type of service, you can study, cook, care for your children ... there are many services. Surely, Guru will engage you in a service to support their mission, maintaining a temple, to become a pujari, organize spiritual conferences, multiple services.

There are many services that exist and Guru knows what service is good for everyone.
Only the person must know what they are looking for and what to do. This relationship with the Guru is very important. Sometimes in my service I get to hear the widest variety of difficulties and fights, but more important than that is the service that will offer. So the relationship with the Guru never ends, because there are always new projects and service areas to offer. When someone terminates a service, then they check the details for the next service. That's part of svarupa, because our constitutional position is to be a servant. I will devote myself to develop the service that was delivered me: either to finish a book, edit, correct it, etc. Always with creativity and responsibility.
Do not expect people run after you to ask for service. That exists in the beginner stage where the representative of the spiritual master must always be behind you to ask you to engage in some services. Sure, that's a position that is a little tiring for the leader, but it is also very merciful at the same time. Otherwise the temple will just be filled with people who are serving only themselves. That is maya. That's where the leader and commander become very merciful and tell others: come here please, we need your help.

Svarupa does not mean laziness. The svarupa is not lazy. So this issue is very important in the execution of service in spiritual life. Svarupa means service. Be clear about the service you perform.
 Some services last for a long time. Mine, for example, has lasted long. The first phrase that Srila Prabhupada said to me was "dedicated your life to give to people what you have learned from me." I was shocked, in one sentence Srila Prabhupada gave me a service for life. I accept it as it was, though I was not qualified. Honestly, it is a big service to deliver Krishna - bhakti to everyone. Always having to set an example with one's own behavior, that's very difficult. Waking up every day thinking about representing the spiritual master, chanting the Gayatri mantra, chanting rounds and then get to work, to do service ... and well, that is a lifetime. A month is easy, but a lifetime? And personal desires? It's difficult. However, I accept this service and I felt very happy that my Guru gave me so much service, and I had no idea that this was it. For me living in Vrinda Bhumi like doing service in Paris is the same, the issue is to do the service with pleasure. The perfection of service is solely to serve with the intention of serving Krishna. There are many variants of service as well, according to the wishes and interests, you can be on the farm or in the city. For example, Srila Prabhupada Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur wanted to stay in Mayapur, but went to Calcutta, because there were many people waiting for the mercy of such a Vaishnava. So we must pray for the service.

Vrinda Bhumi ki jay!
Srila Prabhupada ki jay!
Your always well-wisher,
B.A. Paramadvaiti Swami

Faith is the gateway to devotion 6/15/14 from Sweden

My dear devotees, receive all my affection from Sweden,

Spending a few days happily with the devotees here. We are making plans to spread Krishna Consciousness in these lands. Krishna is He who satisfies every individual pleasure. He serves all and gives shelter to all. He knows everyone and records them in His heart.

I can remember some of you, of course, you are unforgettable. But my memory is limited. But Krishna gives us all shelter. It is very important to understand that Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead and He has a relationship with each and every one of us; and it is the heart to heart relationship with devotees that allows us to approach Krishna.

Chastity is what is needed on our part. And what is chastity? It essentially means having complete fidelity.
Chastity means even being detached from material desires, because one is so absorbed in Krishna's service that you no longer want anything else. But of course, it is very difficult not to have sexual desires in a world where sex dominates everything; however, this is possible only when  a "superior taste" is tasted. Krishna says that when someone has a superior taste one can easily leave the lower taste.

Chastity means not abandoning anyone, not being on bad terms with anyone. Not with your relatives or with those around you. You must occupy yourself with serving the Superior Taste even if you still have a lesser taste and so little by little you will begin to advance spiritually and at some point you will be fixed in Krishna Consciousness. You just have to be patient.

Srila Sridhar Maharaj says that taste for the divine awakens gradually and gradually the undesirable things of the heart also disappear. Everything depends on the attitude, on the determination one has to leave the material entanglement. Only when the moment comes that you decide to surrender completely, to consecrate, at that time one comes to the platform of spiritual stability and only then can you develop a taste for the practice. The attitude of  service, occupation and delivery is first. Dedication means work. Follow the instructions of the spiritual master and put that into practice in service. That's the formula.

Sincerity. Sincerity means doing everything possible to do what needs to be done. It is somewhat difficult. Sincerity is the greatest and also the most difficult to have. But someone with a sincere heart is very well off. Srila Sridhar Maharaj says that a pure devotee is pure in purpose.

Serving will teach you to surrender properly. The practice itself is not the most important, but the intention behind the practice is. Dedication means working under the guidance of a Vaishnava. The right attitude in devotional service can even erase your karma. Thus one releases everything that prevents you from engaging in devotional service.

Submission to Krishna is the most important. Submission makes the difficulties diminish. Submission means accepting without questioning what Krishna wants for oneself, because Krishna will always want the best for you. Lust, anger, greed, madness, illusion, and envy, are all consequences of attachment to the material senses. They completely take us away from Krishna. One makes many mistakes when swayed by them.

You have to protect yourself from anger, rather you have to listen to the inner voice and intelligence. That inner voice will guide us to always move towards the positive, towards the divine and transcendental. The only thing is that one almost never wants to hear it. Therefore, the association of devotees is essential, for they are an amplifier of the inner voice, but one does not want to hear from it because of being under the illusory potency, but devotees constantly remind us of

what we have to do.

We must develop faith in the devotees, faith in service, faith in Guru. Faith is the gateway to devotion. Absolute love accommodates all, there is nothing to fear. Where there is faith God is there and where God is there then there is no fear. Where there is faith there is surrender and where there is surrender there are no separate interests. Where there is no separate interest there is love. We must be placed there every day until the end of our life.

These are the words I wanted to share with you today. Srila Prabhupada ki Jay!

Your well-wisher,
Swami Ba Paramadvaiti